Selective delivery mechanism for conveyers



March so, 1943. 5. 01.50. 2,315,015

- SELECTIVE DELIVERY MECHARISM FOR CONVEYERS Filed Feb. 18, 1941 4Sheets-Sheet 1 March 30, 1943. s. OLSON SELECTIVE DELIVERY MECHANISM FORCONVEYERS Filed Feb. .18, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 30,1943.

5'. OLSON SELECTIVE DELIVERY MECHANISM FOR CONVEYERS Filed Feb. 18, 1941Sheets-shat '3 S. OLSON Mud: 30, 1943.

SELECTIVE DELIVERY MECHANISM FOR CQNVEYERS File d Feb. 18, 1941 4'Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Mar. 30, 1943 Samuel Olson, Chicago, Ill.

Application February 18, 1941, Serial No. 379,460

15 Claims.

This invention relates to conveyers and is particularly concerned withautomatic means for the discharge of loads from the carriers of aconveyer at selected stations respectively.

One object of the invention is to provide such carriers with tripdevices adjustable to actuate the load discharge mechanism at anyselected station.

Another object is to provide manually operable means at a loadingstation adapted for adjusting th tripping device of a chosen carrier sothat its load shall be discharged at a selected station.

It is also an object of the invention to provide wholly mechanical meansfor setting the tripping device at the selected position on the carrier.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide eachcarrier, or at least each carrier of a certain class, with an adjustabletrip member mounted for adjustment in a direction transverse to thedirection of travel of the carrier, and to provide an inclinable cam barpositioned adjacent the loading station of the conveyer and adjustableat various angles for shifting the trip member by a predetermined amountas the carrier travels past the cam bar; and further to provide a seriesof push-buttons or rods each having a difierent stroke and positioned toshift the cam bar to a particular angular position so that actuation ofa selected push-button will determine the station for which the tripmember of a carrier is being set.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Figure l is a somewhat diagrammatic front elevation of averticallyarranged conveyer system embodying this invention, but showing only theportions adjacent the head wheel and the foot wheel, the intermediatestations being omitted.

Figure 2 is aside elevation of the trip-setting device at the loadingstation, being taken sub stantially' as indicated at line 2-2 on Figurel, but showing the parts on a larger scale.

Figure 3 is a detail plan section of the parts shown in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a detail plan section of one of the carriers approaching aload-discharging device at one of the stations on the descending side ofthe conveyer but including a fragment of an ad jacent carrier on theascending side of the conveyer.

Figure 5 is a front elevation of the conveyer and discharge device shownin Figure 4, together The conveyer shown in the drawings forillustrating this invention is a simple type of elevator designed fortransporting books or similar articles between several floors of alibrary building or the like. It includes a head wheel A and a footwheel B, with a single chain I trained over said wheels and operatingcontinuously in the same direction.

' As shown, it may be understood that the righthand ply of the chain 1travels upwardly, as indicated by the arrows associated therewith inFigure 1. The chain l supports a plurality of trays or carriers 2attached at intervals to the chain and each comprising a series ofspaced load-supporting arms 3 extending forwardly from a back wall 4and'disposed between end walls or flanges 5, 5. The front edge of thecarrier is left open so that a load carried on the arms 3 may beslidably discharged by horizontal movement over these arms. Each carrierincludes a vertically extending hanger 6 which is attached to the chainl by means of a pivot 7. Vertically extending guide plates 8 and angles9 form a guide channel in which the chain I and the hangers 5 of thecarriers travel between the head wheel A and foot wheel B.

For discharging the loads by sliding them ofi the arms 3 of the carrierseach unloading station is provided with an unloader or dischargingdevice which includes a plurality of arms [0 secured at intervals on thehorizontal shaft II, as seen in Figures 4 and 5. This shaft is journaledjust in front of the path of the carriers at the descending side of theconveyer, and the arms it at most of the stations stand normally in avertical plane. But when the shaft II is rocked through about 45 degreesthe arms H) are swung to an inclined position at which they intermemberwith the spaces between the arms 3 of the ca rrier as it travelsdownwardly past them. Thus any load on the arms 3 is shiftedhorizontally along them and onto the inclined arms I!) along which itthen slides for delivery to a suitable receptacle or platform, notshown. This type of carrier and load-discharging devices of this generalcharacter are familiar and well understood in the art; but the presentinvention has to do with the. selective control of the dischargingdevices at the several stations.

For this purpose each shaft ll carries a bevel gear !2 which meshes withthe bevel gear I3 on a shaft [4 extending at right angles to the shaft Hand in the same horizontal plane. The shaft l4 carries a sprocketwheell5 connected by a chain IE to a similar sprocket H on a parallel shaftl8 journaled directly above the shaft M, as seen in Figure 5. A trip armI9 is secured to the shaft I8 and projects toward the path of thecarriers 2 so that a suitable trip member on one of the carriers, ifpositioned to encounter the arm l9, will rock the arm downwardly, thusturning the shaft Iii-and simultaneously rocking the shafts l4 and H toswing the spaced arms ID of the unloader into the inclined position atwhich they will discharge a load from the descending carrier as itpasses them.

It may be understood that at each station at which loads are; to beselectively discharged there is provided a rock shaft H with its loaddischarging arms Hl normally standing in vertical position, togethenwiththe interme shed bevel gears l2 and I3 and the chain-connected shafts l4and it. At the several discharge stations the trip arms H) are mountedrespectively in different vertical planes,-that is, at differentdistances along their respective shafts l8, as measured from the frontface of the elevator shaft. In Figure 4 these several positions areindicated at a, b, c, d, e, f and g, and the trip arm i9 is shown at theposition .0. The selector member 20 projects from the carrier inposition to register withthe trip arm 19 so as torock the arm andactuate the unloading device, as already described.

Each of the carriers which is to cooperate with the unloading devices atthe several discharge stations is equipped with a selector lug 20slidably mounted on guide rods 2| and '22 which are secured adjacent oneend wall or flange '5 of the carrier. The rod 2| is formed withdepressions 23 spaced apart at intervals corresponding to the positionsa, b, c, d, e, j and g, and the selector 28 may be provided with anysuitable spring detent for engaging any one of the depressions 23 tohold the selector at adjusted position for registration with the triparm l9 at a particular station.

For shifting the selector lug 2|! of any carrier to a desired positionon the guide rod 2! there is mounted adjacent the loading station C acam bar 24 which is fulcrumed near its lower end at 25 and extendsvertically alongside the path of the carriers on the ascending side ofthe conveyer. The bar includes a flange 2 which extends past thevertical plane through which the selector lugs 20 of the carriersproject as they travel upward. Normally, each of these lugs stands onthe rod 2| at a neutral position (as shown in Figure 3) near the frontside of the conveyer, but if the bar 24 is set at inclined position,such as that indicated in dotted outline in Figure 2, its flange 24*will act as a cam upon an approaching lug 20 so as to shift it along itsguide rod 2! to a position determined by the upper end of the :cam bar24 at its inclined position of adjustment. The bar 24 is held normallyat inoperative or neutral position with its flange 24 substantiallyvertical, and for adjusting it to the various inclined positionsrequired for shifting the selector lug 20 to operate at any one of theseveral discharge stations, there is provided a bank of push rods 26each terminating in a push-button 21 and guided in two supporting plates28 for horizontal movement. The push-buttons 21 are exposed in avertical row, as seen inFigure 1, adjacent the load-receiving opening atthe station C. The inner end of each push rod 26 stands normally incontact with the bar 2e, and inward movement of any of the push rodswill serve to tilt the bar 24 about its fulcrum 25.

Each of the push rods 26 has a different limit of inward movementdetermined by a stop collar 28 positioned to abut the outer guide plate28; and each of the rods 26 is thus limited to a stroke which willincline the cam bar 24 just far enough to cause it to shift the selector20 along the guide 2! into position for engagement of its detent with acertain one of the depressions 23 in the guide. Each rod 26 has a notch30, and a pivoted latch member 31 is positioned to drop into this notchwhen the rod is pushed inwardly to the limit determined by its stopcollar 29. The rod is thus held at inthrust position, and serves to holdthe cam bar 24 at the corresponding angle of adjustment while theselector lug 20 on the carrier traverses the flange 2t and is thus setat the desired position.

As shown in Figure 6, all the latches 3| are disposed in a commonvertical plane, and are confined between a pair of guide bars 32 whichare connected at intervals by pins 33 each extending under one of thelatches 3!. At their upper ends the guide bars 32 are connected by alink 34, with a lever 35 whose bent end extends for wiping contact witha lug 36 fixed on the carrier 2 adjacent the front of the carrier, asseen in Figure 3. Thus, after the selector 20 passes the upper end ofthe cam bar flange 24 the lug 36 engagesthe lever 35 and swings it tolift the guide bars 32 through a short distance sufiicient to bring eachor the cross-pins 33into engagement with one of the latches 3|; in thisway the latch 3i, which has dropped into the notch -30 of the inthrustpush rod 26, is lifted out of the notch, releasing the rod and allowingit to .be returned to its normal position. The force for thus returningthe push rod is supplied by a spring 3? connecting the cam bar 24 with afixed frame member 38 and constantly urging the cam bar toward itsnormal or-neutral position.

In order that the movement of the unloader arms 10 may be accomplishedsmoothly and quietly the lug 20 is arranged to engage the trip arm l9gradually rather than suddenly, and this is accomplished by providingthe lug 2 0 with a depending arm 40 curved downwardly and away from thepivot axis of the arm 19. The lower end of the part 40 travels in a pathjust beyond the end of the trip am Hi so that as the carrier 2 descendsthe curved face of the part 40 acts as a cam pressing upon the end ofthe arm I 9 and rocking it, as shown in Figure 5. This mechanismincludes a spring 4| which serves to hold the unloader arms it] normallyin their upright position, and which is tensioned when the arms havebeen tilted to their inclined loading position.

To retain the unloader arms) at inclined position while the carrier 2passes them and is relieved of its lead thereby, Figure 10 shows a catchdog 42 pivotally supported on the frame in position to engage a stop arm43 which extends pair of hook-shaped stops 44 extend fixedlyifrom'rigidly from the shaft l l of theunloader.

the supporting framework in position to engage a cross-tie 45 carried bythe outer ends of the unloacler arms below the axis of their shaft I I,and these stops thus limit the rocking movement of ,the arms H] to theinclined position. The catch 42 is yieldingly held at locking positionby its weighted arm 46, but as the carrier 2 continues to descend afterdischarge of its load, the lug 36, carried-fixedly on the carrier,strikes a release arm 47 extending rigidly from the catch 42 and thusrocks the catch downwardly, causing it to release the arm 43, allowingthe spring 4| to return-the unloader arms ID to their normal position.At vertical position of the arms H] the mechanism is checked byengagement of the trip arm I9 with a stop 48 secured on the frame; thisaction will also take place rather quietly because the weight of theunloader arms H1 at their inclined position is such as to nearly balancethe tension of the spring 4! and to prevent the return movement fromstarting suddenly, and as the arms l0 approach their vertical positionthe tension of the spring 4| is lessened so that the parts come to restwithout appreciable noise or shock.

When an elevator of this type is employed in library work it may befitted with carriers of two types. Those which are assigned to the workof conveying books away from the station C, which may be, for example,at the reading room floor, will be fitted with the selectivelyadjustable lugs 29, as shown in Figure 4, and will unload their books bytripping and tilting the unloader arms ill at any of the stack floorstations D. But for sending books from the stacks to the reading roomstation C there may be provided a series of carriers having noadjustable lug 20. The unloader arms H] at the station 0 will standnormally at their inclined position so that books placed on thesespecial carriers will always be removed at the reading room floor. Bookswhich are being returned from the loading station C to any of thestations D at'the stack floors above the station C will have beenremoved from their carriers by selective unloading mechanism before:

these carriers reach the station C hence, the

carriers, being empty, will pass the incined unloader arms at C withoutinterference.

However, in the particular arrangement shown in Figure 1 there is onestorage or stack floor having an unloading station E below the level ofthe station C Since this station is the lowest. of

the entire series its unloader arms H1 may be set shaft U which supportsthe unloader arms IQ at; the station C is connected to the bevel gear l3by a gevel gear l2", as shown in Figure 9, in

such relation that when the trip arm W on theshaft I8 at station C isrocked downwardly by the lug 20 of a descending carrier, the shaft Hwill be rotated in a direction to swing the armsl0 upwardly to theirvertical position (instead of downwardly, as at the other stations). Asuitable catch device 52 is provided to hold the arms Iii in theirvertical position until the loaded carrier passes them when the lug 36on the carrier will trip the release arm 51 of the catch device andallow the arms [0* to return to their normally inclined position. Sincethis action is necessary only for carriers routed to the station E, thetrip arm [9* at the station C will be located in register with theposition :0 (see Figure 4) which corresponds to the position of=theselector ing 20 :for station E.

In many cases there will be only a single sending station, such as thestation C at which the loads placed on the carriers are routed tovarious points of delivery. But in some cases it may be desirable tohave one or more additional stations provided with selector buttons 21,and in Figure 1 such an arrangement is indicated at D In order toprevent the use of the selector buttons at D interfering with thesetting of selector lugs already effected at station C, I provide aninterlocking arrangement shown schematically in Figure 10. In additionto the push rods and their buttons 2'! at the station C, the controlpanel includes a button 60, and at station D a similar button BI isprovided. The cam bars 2 3 at these two stations include projectinglocking pins 62. The button controls a latch hook 63 engageable with thepin 62 of one cam bar, and the button 6| controls a latch 64 engageablewith the pin 52 of the other cam bar. The two latches are connected by atie rod 65 of such length that only one of the latches can be engagedwith its pin 62 at one time. When it is desired to use the selectorbuttons 27 at the station C, the button 69 is pushed inward, rocking thelever 86 about the pivot of the latch 63 so as to carry the spring 67past dead center and cause the latch 63 to be disengaged from the pin52. The upward movement of the latch 63 acts through the rod 65 to liftthe latch 64 into engagement with its pin 62, thus preventing operationof the cam bar at station B for the time being. The movement of latch 64to looking position will be accompanied by an outward movement of itscorresponding button Si by the carrying spring 67 past dead center, thusrocking the lever 66 to thrust the button 6i outwardly. The button 6!will thus act as an indicator at the control panel to show that the cambar 24 is locked. Ordinarily, it will be adjusted to leave the cam barnormally unlocked at a certain station, for example, the station C, sothat whenever the operator at station I) is through using the selectormechanism he will re-adjust it so as to lock the cam bar at station Dand release the cam bar at station C.

Occasionally, when it is desired to send several carriers successivelyto the same station without resetting the cam bar 24 for each of thecarriers, the corresponding selector button 21 may be locked at inthrustposition by the use of a locking lug lil shown on the face of the panelin Figure 3 and pivoted thereto so that it can be swung about its pivotto overlap the stop collar 29 when the push rod 25 is thrust in to thelimit of its throw at which the collar 29 stops against the outer faceof the plate 28. With this arrangement, although the latches will belifted each time a carrier passes their controlling arm 35, the lug willprevent the return of the cam bar to normal position under the action ofits spring 37, and will maintain the bar at its inclined adjustmentuntil manually released.

While there is shown and described herein certain specific structureembodying the invention, it will be manifest to those skilled in the artthat various modifications and rearrangements of the parts may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and thatthe same is not limited to the particular form herein shown anddescribed, except in so far as indicated by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a conveyer chain, carriers at intervals thereonequipped with trip lugs slidably adjustable transversely of thedirection of travel of the chain, a pivotally mounted inclinable cam barengageable with said lugs and a control panel with a plurality of pushrods each operative directly to set the cam bar at a different angle toeffect a desired adjustment of a trip lug as it traverses the cam bar.

2. In combination with a conveyer chain, carriers at intervals thereonequipped with trip lugs slidably adjustable transversely of thedirection of travel of the chain, an inclinable cam bar mounted on afixed pivot and engageable with said lugs and a control panel with aplurality of push rods each operative to shift the cam bar to adifierent angle to effect a desired adjustment of a trip lug as ittraverses the cam bar, together with an individual latch for each pushrod automatically engaging the rod at its limit of operative movement tohold the cam bar at adjusted position.

3. In combination with a conveyer chain, carriers at intervals thereonequipped with trip lugs slidably adjustable transversely of thedirection or travel of the chain, an inclinable cam bar engageable withsaid lugs, and a control panel with a plurality of push rods eachoperative to set the cam bar at a dififerent angle to effect a desiredadjustment of a trip lug as it traverses the cam bar, together with anindividual latch for each push rod automatically engaging the rod at itslimit of operative movement to hold the cam bar at adjusted position,and a release arm for said latch engageable by the carrier after its lughas traversed the cam bar whereby the rod and cam bar are released forreturn to normal position. i

4. In combination with a conveyer chain, carriers at intervals thereonequipped with trip lugs slidably adjustable transversely of thedirection of travel of the chain, an inclinable cam bar engageable withsaid lugs and a control panel with a plurality of push rods eachoperative to set the cam bar at a different angle to effect a desiredadjustment of a trip lug as it traverses the cam bar, together with anindividual latch for each push rod automatically engaging the rod at itslimit of operative movement to hold the cam bar at adjusted position,means operative automatically to return the cam bar and push rod totheir normal position upon release of the latch, and a release arm forsaid latch extending for actuation by the carrier after its lug hastraversed the cam bar.

5. In combination with a conveyer which includes carriers at intervalsequipped with trip lugs slidably adjustable transversely of thedirection of travel of the carriers, an inclinable cam bar mountedadjacent the path of said travel and engageable with said lugs, aplurality of adjusting members for said cam bar with individual stopsfor said members limiting each of them to a difierent range of movementwhereby each member is operable to set the cam bar at a different anglefor effecting a corresponding displacement of a trip lug from itsinitial position as it traverses the cam bar.

6. In combination with a conveyer which includes carriers at intervalequipped with trip to a different range of movement whereby each memberis operable to set the cam bar at a different angle for eifecting acorresponding displacement of a trip lug from its initial position as ittraverses the cam bar, together with means for automatically retainingthe cam bar at any position of adjustment.

7. In combination witha conveyer which includes carriers at intervalsequipped with trip lugs slidably adjustable transversely of thedirection of travel of the carriers, an inclinable cam bar mountedadjacent the path of said travel and engageable with said lugs, aplurality of adjusting members for said cam bar with individual stopsfor said members limiting each of them to a difierent range of movementwhereby each member is operable to set the cam bar at a different anglefor efiecting a corresponding displacement of a trip lug from itsinitial position as it traverses the cam bar, together with means forautomatically retaining the cam bar at any position of adjustment, andyielding means connected to the cam bar for returning it automaticallyto initial position upon release of said retaming means.

8. In combination with a conveyor including carriers at intervalsequipped with trip lugs slidably adjustable transversely of thedirection of travel of the conveyer, an inclinable cam bar engageablewith said lugs for sliding them to selected positions of adjustment asthey traverse the cam bar, and means for setting the cam bar including aplurality of push rods each engageable with the bar and each having adifferent stroke, together with individually pivoted latches for saidpush rods, respectively, each adapted to retain its push rod at thelimit of its operative stroke, a latch lifter having means to engageeach of the latches and a trip arm for said lifter engageable by acarrier after its lug has traversed the cam bar.

9. A conveyer system including a plurality of delivery stations, aconveyer having a carrier arranged to traverse said stations, a normallyinactive unloading device at each of said delivery stations providedwith a trip member operable to shift the device into active position,the several trip members being mounted to register respectively withdifferent points on the carrier as it passes, a shiftable selectorslidably adjustable on the carrier for engagement with any one of saidtrip members, a cam bar mounted adjacent the path of the carrier andmovable to a position in which it extends obliquely across the path ofthe selector for shifting it as it traverses the bar, and a controlpanel with a plurality of push rods each having a different stroke andeach engageable with the cam bar for shifting it to a different obliqueposition corresponding to the proper adjustment of the selector for oneof the delivery stations;

10. A conveyer system including a plurality of delivery stations and twosending stations, 21 conveyer having carriers at intervals equipped withtrip lugs slidably adjustable transversely of the direction of travel ofthe carriers, an inclinable cam bar mounted adjacent the path of saidtravel at each of the sending stations for engaging said lugs, means forselectively adjusting each of said cam bars at a series of differentangles for effecting corresponding displacements of the trip lugs, andlocking means for the cam bar at one of said sending stations withactuating means for the lock disposed at the other sending station forpreventing adjustment of one cam bar while the other cam bar is inservice.

11. A conveyer system including a plurality of delivery stations and twosending stations, a conveyer having carriers at intervals equipped withtrip lugs slidably adjustable transversely of the direction of travel ofthe carriers, an inclinable cam bar mounted adjacent the path of saidtravel at each of the sending stations for engaging said lugs, means forselectively adjusting each of said cam bars at a series of differentangles for effecting corresponding displacements of the trip lugs, andinterconnected locking means for both cam bars arranged to lock eitherone of them and leave the other free for adjustment, together withactuating members for said locking means at both sending stations.

12. In combination with a conveyer chain, carriers at intervals thereonequipped with trip lugs slidably adjustable transversely of thedirection of travel of the chain, an inclinable cam bar engageable Withsaid lugs and a control panel with a plurality of push rods eachoperable to set the cam bar at a different angle to efiect a desiredadjustment of a trip lug as it traverses the cam bar, together withlocking means adjustable at will to hold any selected push rod atoperative position for causing the cam bar to efiect similar adjustmentsof the trip lugs on a plurality of carriers as they successively passthe cam bar.

13. In combination with a conveyer chain, carriers at intervals thereonequipped with trip lugs slidably adjustable transversely of thedirection of travel of the chain, an inclinable cam bar engageable withsaid lugs, a control panel with a plurality of push rods each operableto set the cam bar at a difierent angle to effect a desired adjustmentof a trip lug as it traverses the cam bar, an individual latch for eachpush rod automatically engaging the rod at its limit of operativemovement to hold the cam bar at adjusted position, and a release arm forsaid latch engageable by the carrier after its lug has traversed tde cambar, together with locking means independent of the latches andadjustable at will to hold any selected push rod at adjusted positionfor causing the cam bar to effect similar adjustment of the trip lugs ona plurality of carriers as they successively pass said cam bar.

14. A conveyer system including a series of regular delivery stationsand one special delivery station, a conveyer arranged to traverse saidstations and having a regular load carrier designated for transportingloads to the regular stations and a special carrier for transportingloads, a normal ly inactive unloading device at each regular stationhaving a trip member operable to shift it to active position, theseveral trip members of said regular stations being positioned toregister respectively with diiierent points on the regular carrier as itpasses, a shiftable trip lug on said carrier adjustable to any of saidpoints to engage a selective trip member for unloading the carrier atthe corresponding station, and a normally active unloading device at thespecial station, the special carrier being constructed without a triplug whereby it passes the regular stations without releasing its loadand is automatically unloaded by the normally active unloading device atthe special station.

15. A conveyer system in accordance with claim 14in which the specialstation is located beyond the regular stations along the path of travelof the carriers whereby the regular carrier, if loaded, is relieved ofits load before pas ing the special station.

SAMUEL OLSO

